by Michelle sheard
(Redlands California)
QUESTION:
Hi my name is Michelle Sheard I have a 12 year old daughter that always says she wants to act we live in Redlands California she even wants to move towards La so she could try to act I would love nothing more but to help my daughter make her dreams come true she has no head shots we have never done nothing of the sort so how do we even begin thank you for taking the time out to read this.
ANSWER:
Hi Michelle,
There should be some acting classes for kids and teens in your area. That would be the best place to start if she hasn’t done any acting. Once she’s ready to audition, she will need professional headshots. If you take the time to research different photographers, you should be able to get good acting pictures for her for around $100 – $125 (save money by choosing only 2 looks – most actors don’t need more.) You can read some tips on our headshot info page.
The important thing is to pick a photographer who knows about taking actor headshots, not just a portrait photographer, since acting headshots are different from regular portraits. You may want to make the drive to Los Angeles if you can’t find anyone close. Unless she changes a lot (gets her hair cut, for example), headshots can last a year at that age.
Once you have her acting pictures, you can set a profile for her on Actors Access. More and more auditions are “EcoCast”, which means you can submit a tape of her audition online directly to the casting director, without having to drive to Los Angeles, at least not until callbacks. Every audition will mention whether it is EcoCast or not, so you can decide if you want to submit her or not based on whether you would be willing to drive.
You can also submit her headshot with an acting resume to agencies and managers who represent kids and teens. You can get an updated list of contacts on the Backstage website. Hope this helps get her started and she has fun with it.